Officers and Directors, 1998

President Bill Bartell (830) 591-1769
Vice President John Goodman 395-9334
Secretary Jeff Turner 940-4050
Treasurer Tony Smolder 942-6519
Director Jim Burch 942-2734
Director Bob Blakemore 483-6482
Director Cliff Hilty 374-5387
Director Kirk Stant 933-1572

Committees

Ship Manager Kirk Stant 933-1572
Contest Manager Tony Smolder 942-6519
Equipment Jeff Turner 940-4050
Legal Advisor Bob von Hellens 954-8015
Membership Arnie Jurn 279-7840
Newsletter Ed Doug Bell 566-3593
Airspace Bob von Hellens 954-8015
Safety Open
Historian Ruth Petry 274-3968

ASA CALENDAR OF EVENTS

July Board Meeting Minutes

The meeting was held July 7, 1998 at Barro’s Pizza, 701 E. Coral Gables, Phoenix, Arizona.

The meeting was called to order at 7:25 PM, A quorum was present.

Attending: Bob Blakemore

Jim Burch

Roy Coulliette

Cliff Hilty

John Goodman

Bill Poore

Tony Smolder

Kirk Stant

Jeff Turner

OLD BUSINESS

The board meeting minutes from June were accepted as written.

The treasurer presented a brief summary for each of the three categories; General, Contest, and Aircraft:

Budget Category

General $ 2,550

Contest $ 671

Aircraft $ 15,709

Total Balance $ 18,930

$17,000 of the Total Balance is in an interest bearing account

Glider Utilization, April through June 98:

Notes:

1. In June, 3 pilots flew at the annual rate, and 8 pilots flew at the hourly rate, for a total of 11 pilots using the Grob.

2. Additional income so far this year includes two AZ getaways ($430) and 4 Annuals ($2100 received, $300 due). At least one more Annual ($600) is expected. This is a projected income of $3,430.

3. The oxygen system is installed and working in AS, members will need to provide own cannula or mask. Contact Kirk for additional details.

4. The water ballast on the Grob has been checked and works. No leaks IF the dump valve is reset before filling; talk to Kirk or Doug Bell on how to do this.

5. Insurance is due on July 15th; the annual premium for the Grob is $1,312.

$17,000 from the checking account has been placed in the cash management account.

The new club T-shirts are now available for $15 each. They are high quality shirts and have a small graphic of a sailplane with the letters ASA on the front and a large graphic on the back with two sailplanes over desert terrain. Contact Tony Smolder at 942-6519 to get yours. If there is enough interest, folding chairs with an ASA logo may be printed. The chairs would be sold for $20 each. If you are interested contact John Goodman at 395-9334 and get your name on the list.

$5,050 in checks had been received by the cutoff date for a new two-place sailplane, with 25 members contributing. Since the goal of $10,000 had not been reached the board voted to return the checks as had been promised. However, the board feels that there is still interest in a two-place ship and will pursue other avenues. Bob Blakemore will draft a letter to be included with each returned check offering a new option. A first draft is to be e-mailed to the other board members by 7/14, with comments due back to Bob by 7/21. Other members who expressed interest with the previous offer but did not contribute will be contacted. Bob will also prepare a description of the offer for the August newsletter.

NEW BUSINESS

Roy Coulliette proposed to the board a joint effort in hosting a national contest at Turf within the next few years. Turf would provide all facilities (and arrange for tow planes), ASA would provide contest personnel and expertise. The most likely target would be the 15M nationals in 2002. The board is currently considering the offer, as well as other options such as hosting a regional competition.

A tentative date for awards banquet has been set. It would be on Nov 7 at the top of the BankOne building. Dinner would cost approximately $32 per person. A search is underway for a speaker.

The next board meeting will be held at Bill Poore’s home on 8/4/98 at 7:00 PM.

The meeting adjourned at 9:22 PM.

August Board Meeting Minutes

The meeting was held at Bill Poore’s residence, 928 W. Duke Dr., Tempe, Arizona.

The meeting was called to order at 7:40 PM, A quorum was present.

Attending: Bob Blakemore

Cliff Hilty

John Goodman

Bill Poore

Tony Smolder

Jeff Turner

OLD BUSINESS

The board meeting minutes from July were accepted as written.

The treasurer presented a detailed ledger for the checking account as well as each of the three budget categories; General, Contest, and Aircraft. A summary of checking account activity and budget category balances are as follows:

Tuscon Soaring Club (Willcox Tows) -648.00

Costello Insurance (Grob Insurance) -1,312.00

Resco Solutions (Web Page - 3 mo.) -60.00

SSA (dues for new member) -55.00

Cliff Hilty (Ox Bottle & fill 2 bottles) -139.00

Income (Dues, Tows, T-shirts, etc) +1,140.00

Balance (as of 8/4/98) $ 1,503.85

Budget Category

General $ 2,774.83

Contest $ 1,332.00

Aircraft $ 14,397.02

Total Balance $ 18,503.85

$17,000 of the Total Balance is in an interest bearing account

An aircraft report was not available as the aircraft manager is out of town.

All checks received for the new 2-place glider were returned. A letter was included with each thanking the member for their contribution and detailing a second offering for the purchase of a 2-place glider. A copy of the letter is attached (see Attachment A).

Further discussion of hosting a regional or national contest has been tabled pending the outcome of an upcoming meeting with the FAA regarding airliner / glider traffic conflicts in the Turf local area.

The awards banquet will be held on November 7th at the top of the Bank One building in downtown Phoenix. The menu will feature a chicken entrée. The cost will be $35 per person. The search for an appropriate speaker is still underway.

NEW BUSINESS

The oxygen system is now complete with 4 bottles. Due to the complexity of the 4 bottle system, and to ensure that it is being used properly, a new procedure has been instituted. Members wishing to use the club’s oxygen system to fill their aircraft bottle are required to contact Cliff Hilty for a briefing on procedures for the system prior to use. A fee of $20 per year will be assessed to each member using the oxygen system. The $20 fee covers the period of time from the first fill-up until December 31st of that year, the member is entitled to unlimited fill-ups during that period. The new fee schedule was instituted because many members who filled their oxygen systems during the past year did not leave a record of it, thus the rest of the club was left holding the bill.

The second offering for the 2-place glider has already resulted in 6 members submitting checks (this means only 19 more to go!)

The board has tentatively appointed John Goodman and Bob Blakemore to represent the club at the upcoming (proposed) talks with the FAA regarding 2 recent near mid-air collisions with airliners near Lake Pleasant. The board will seek Jim Burch’s opinion regarding our representation due to his unique position (FAA Examiner and ASA board member), before finalizing the appointments.

The next board meeting will be held at Barros Pizza on 9/10/98 at 7:00 PM.

Classified

July 15, 1998

Dear ASA Member:

The board wants to take this opportunity to thank you for showing your financial support of our club by your "intent to purchase" flight coupons offering. As you may recall the board had established a $10,000 goal for this offering. The goal that was set provided both the necessary capital for the purchase of a two-place glider as well as the anticipated operational expenses for the next two years. This two-year safeguard was and remains an important requirement for the board in any glider acquisition.

I’m pleased to tell you that twenty-five ASA members purchased approximately $5,000 of flight coupons; short of our required goal but a good showing nonetheless. According to the terms that the board had set out for this initial offering any shortfall of the goal would result in all moneys being returned. Accordingly, I’m enclosing your much appreciated check—with my heartfelt thanks for your support.

All however is not lost—in reflecting on the successes that we have had—the continued interest of our members in a two-place glider—and the boards commitment to finding solutions to our challenges it was decided to extend to our members a second offering with some slight variations on the old. I have listed below for your review the terms of this new offering:

1) Unlimited flying over the next two years—not restricted by number of flights or flight duration.

2) The purchase price for this two-year unlimited flight coupon is $400.00.

3) The board will sell only twenty-five of these special two-year memberships on a first come first serve basis.

4) Flights by ASA members who are not part of this offering will pay normal hourly rates and be subject to the traditional aircraft rules.

5) All members will be subject to standard aircraft scheduling guidelines—except that the special two-year exemption for charter members will not be restricted as to flight duration.

6) The offering period for those members who did not participate in the first offering will begin on August 1, 1998 and conclude on August 31, 1998. To those ASA members who did participate in the first offering this letter will extend to you a special invitation prior to the club wide announcement.

To those members who wish to participate in this program but want to donate some or all of their time to ASA sponsored programs special consideration will be given to those members. (All contributions will be accepted.)

If you are interested in this new offering please make your $400.00 check made payable to ASA and mail to Tony Smolder. No checks will be cashed unless the $10,000 goal is reached—and as before if it is not the checks will be returned.

Again, thanks for your continued support.

Cordially yours;

John Goodman